The Mizoram Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department in Mizoram state of India reported the pigs perished across over 30 villages. No swine flu has yet been reported in the state and the pigs are believed to have contracted the illness after others were imported from nearby Myanmar. Health officials have warned for years of the potential for viruses to jump from animals to humans, with potentially disastrous consequences.

The US-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has warned that in the US, one-third of pigs have some form of flu, suggesting continual threats to public health as even one pig can cause illness. In official swine flu counts alone that are far below true numbers, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has tallied 208,058 human swine flu cases in 168 countries and territories, with 1,688 fatalities. The same agency also announced that cases in Europe increased by 2,065 in 24 hours, including 594 confirmed in Germany, 558 in Britain, 395 in Netherlands, and 263 in Italy.

In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service (NHS) is struggling to fill vacancies for health care practitioners ahead of what is expected to be a busy winter due to the pandemic. Egypt’s ministry of health reported an additional 13 cases, bringing the total to 342. China has reported 54 new cases within 2 days, bringing the number of afflicted to 2,264. A summer language school in southern France was disrupted when 5 adults and 59 teenagers showed swine flu-like symptoms. Many students have left the school to avoid further exposure and new arrivals have been temporarily cancelled.

We are disheartened to learn of these situations worldwide and pray that the suffering due to this pandemic ends, as more and more people realize the assurance of the wholesome vegan diet in protecting both personal and global health.